


You're the Only One Worth Seeing

by hycanthis



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bartender Allura, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bounty Hunters Nyma & Rolo, Chef Hunk (Voltron), Everyone is like 20 years old, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Multi, Nyma and Rolo are actually brought up a lot in this fic, Pidge is just hanging as always :), Pining Keith (Voltron), Set in the 50s, Sheriff Shiro, Sheriff's brother Keith, Slow Burn, Western AU, rogue lance, yo this is better than it sounds trust me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-04 06:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14586846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hycanthis/pseuds/hycanthis
Summary: “Kogane."Keith turned around in the bar seat. "McClain," he nodded. Lance swung into a seat. The quiet chatter of of customers filled the diner and Keith raised his eyebrows. Lance looked away, then glanced back at Keith."I'm looking for a road trip partner."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Character age reference:  
> Lance: 23  
> Keith: 24  
> Rolo: 25  
> Nyma: 24  
> Shiro: 27  
> Hunk: 23  
> Pidge: 19
> 
>  
> 
> My art instagram: @dried.hycanthis

“Kogane."

Keith turned around in the bar seat. "McClain," he nodded. Lance swung into a seat, opened his mouth, then paused. The quiet chatter of the diner filled in the awkward silence, but Keith still raised his eyebrows. Lance looked away in what seemed to be confusion, then glanced back at Keith.

"I'm looking for a road trip partner."

Keith ignored how his heart beated quicker at the statement, and he rose his eyebrows in question.

"Yeah, my friends and I were thinking about it for a while."

"Ah." Keith felt his heart drop a bit. Then again, it made a lot more sense. Now that he thought about it, he had seen the Cuban gushing about this trip to the head chef, Hank? "The let's-go-out-and-steal-motorcycle-parts-so-I-can-make-one-that-could've-easily-been-bought "project"." It was more of a statement than a question.

Lance laughed nervously, the noise bright. "Well, technically it's more of a let's-go-out-and-have-some-fun-on-the-road-and-hey-are-those-free-motorcycle-parts? project, but yes." Lance took and deep breath and scratched the back of his head out of nervous habit. "And y'know, it's-it's not like you need to go because it's fun. I'm asking you because you're the sheriff's brother. If the rogues and I get caught, we need someone to bail us out."

Keith pursed his lips, and turned back towards the counter. He could've seen this a mile away. And from a mile away, he knew he shouldn't get caught up with the rogues' little trips. In no way should he be condoning this. But yet... "What time are you meeting up?"

Lance beamed. "Aw, yeah!" He stood up quickly and jogged towards the diner's exit, before looking back once to shoot a wink and a pair of finger guns. "9:30 tomorrow. You won't regret it Kogane!"

By the time Lance was out the door, Keith knew he already was.

***

9:34. Keith had been stuck with Lance’s friends for a good four minutes, yet it felt like an hour. During the first minute of waiting, he inspected the two bounty hunters. One was a lanky man with bleached hair and dark skin splattered with freckles. He was wearing an open vest, dark pants, and vintage aviator goggles. Keith had decided that the other man was definitely a stoner. The other person was a shorter pale woman with big blond curls, which were probably styled with a curling iron. She was wearing a crop top and baggy pants tucked under calf high boots. Blondie was quietly playing around with a pistol. Got it, so these are not the people Keith would want to hang out with, thanks! Thankfully they’ve only tried one attempt at the awkward “Gee, lovely weather out here, huh?” Keith tapped his foot against the dirt road impatiently. God, where was Lance McClain when you needed him?

“Guys!”

Speaking of the devil.

Keith turning around to see Lance quickly approaching the three of them, jogging and huffing slightly in exertion.

“About time you showed up!” Blondie called out. She smirked when the Cuban slowed to a stop in front of her.

Lance grimaced and flapped a hand. “Yeah yeah, let’s just go already.” He looked up and his eyes widened. “Oh! Keith, this is Nyma--” Blondie nodded-- “and Rolo.” Stoner raised a hand disinterestedly. “Nyma and Rolo, Keith. Now let’s go!” Nyma smiled again, and she and Stoner started for the car. Lance sighed, and Keith slowed to walk beside him.

“Good job being late to own shit-show, idiot.”

Lance grumbled under his breath. “I don’t even know why I bother…”

“What?”

“Shut up, Kogane.”

They approached the car, where the other two have already taken their respective seats of driver and shotgun. Keith briefly looked at the vehicle up and down, taking in its appearance. When it was first brought, it could’ve easily been and creamy white. Now it was painted with rust and oil streaks and gasoline stains, with drawings on the sides--some impressive like the Chinese dragon curling around the back, and others crude doodles. According to the other three, the van had “personality.” Keith just wanted the road trip over and done with.

***

The first few minutes of the ride were silent and awkward, only filled with Rolo and Nyma’s small talk and quiet rock music filtering through the cracked speakers. It was a lot more peaceful than what Keith expected rogues and bounty hunters to like. Lance shifted next to him. He’d thrown off his signature leather jacket and boots, leaving him with a loose striped collared shirt and tight dark jeans. Lance shifted again and hummed quietly to himself. His eyes flicked to Keith and he smiled cockily. Any fond thoughts Keith might’ve been having of him immediately fled from his mind. “How’s the rebellious outsider life treating you so far, mullet?” Lance mocked.

“It’s hardly been fifteen minutes, Lance,” Keith deadpanned.

“Sucks.” The other boy turned to face Keith, his smile becoming more devious.

“I was hoping you’d get out of your snobby-rich outsider life phase.”

Keith huffed, covering his amusement as irritation. “I thought I was your get-out-of-jail-free card.”

Nyma laughed loudly and brilliantly from the front, and Keith startled. “Really! Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!” She reached over from the driver’s seat to raise the music’s volume and flashed Keith a grin through the rear-way mirror. “Live a little!”

Keith’s mouth quirked, but he didn’t respond quickly. Nyma was basically a stranger, but now she was telling him some overused quote. “I feel like I’m in some sort of weird cliche movie.”

She laughed at that, and Rolo turned the music higher and rolled down this window. Lance looked at Keith mischievously and smiled. The wind whipped through his hair, and Keith smiled back. Huh. Guess he was right about the rogues the first time.

***

“Hey, our first stop!” Rolo called, and Keith snapped to attention and lifted his head off the left window. Sometime along the road, he’d fallen asleep. ...As did Lance, Keith thought as he noticed said man snoring and draped over the right side of the back seats. Keith snorted in amusement at the sight. Nyma jumped out of the driver’s seat and slammed the door behind her to open the door for Lance.

“Up and at ‘em,” she flicked Lance’s head.

“Mmmm…five more minutes...”

She rolled her eyes and hefted Lance up, slinging his arm around her shoulders. Nyma looked back at Keith and arched an eyebrow. “You coming?”

“Oh!” He jumped again, feeling self-conscious. “I’d thought you’d want me to, uh, y’know, stay back, I dunno, um, sure? I don’t--”

“Yeah, you’re coming.”

“Ah, okay.” Keith felt dumb, but left the van on the left side.

It was noon, and the sun was beating down on the four figures walking to the stray thrift shop. Keith squinted at the sign, which most helpfully read “Many Items”. “Shady,” Keith muttered, and Lance huffed a laugh. Nyma took that as a sign to drop the Cuban.

The group entered the shop and found themselves in a place dimly lit, with sagging shelves filled to the max with antiques. Boxes were scattered throughout the floor plan, filled with various knickknacks, some of which Keith couldn’t even name. Rolo surveyed the shop for a bit before picking out three decent pairs of wheels. He looked back once, and handed them to the lanky man behind the counter with two nods of affirmation.

“Two thousand,” the owner stated, not even looking at the objects.

Rolo spluttered, looking between the tattered wheels and the man at the counter. “W-That’s too high!” He leaned across. “How about four hundred.”

“Thousand fifty’s the lowest I can go.”

Rolo looked at Nyma helplessly. After a few seconds of wordless conversation, they seemed to come to an agreement. Rolo turned back to the shop owner, who quirked an eyebrow and listened for the next offered price. Rolo smiled in response. Keith smiled too, but for another reason. He’d never thought the rogues would be one to peacefully bargain, but hey, maybe he was--

“Run!”

Aaand he was right the first time. Nyma broke into a run, shoving into his shoulder roughly when she passed. Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist, pulling Keith into a run.

The three rushed into the van, Nyma once again at the driver’s, Lance at shotgun, and Keith in the back. Nyma revved the van to pull away, and Keith realized what she was going to do. He grabbed her arm. “Rolo’s still running!”

She shook his arm off and glared at Keith, so he shrunk back. “He’ll be fine,” she hissed. Nyma slammed on the gas, and Rolo jumped in the backseat as the van was pulling away.

Keith’s mind was running. They just stole from a shop, and got away with it. And he’s the sheriff’s brother. I can’t believe we just did that. I can’t believe we just did that. I can’t believe--

“I got the goods!” Rolo shouted. The van erupted in cheers. Keith stared at the people around them. I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY JUST DID THAT.

Lance was chittering about how the wheels looked only a month old or how the material had a higher percentage of rubber in it or whatever, Keith didn’t care. “You just stole those motorcycle wheels!”

The talking halted to a stop. Rolo glanced at Keith confusedly. “Uh, yeah buddy, thanks for noticing.”

This just made Keith more flustered, his face flushing in anger. “You-you can’t just-!” He clenched his fists. “You can’t just--”

“Hey.” Nyma slowed the van down a bit and turned to face Keith. She sent another death glare when Keith tried to protest and he shut up. “That dude was totally ripping up off. One of these tires is hardly just fifty bucks. And because of that store is in the middle of nowhere? He probably convinced other people his trash was worth all the money. He deserved that. And we?” She cracked a smile as she nodded towards the tires. “We deserve this.”

And that was the process for the rest of the day. Nyma, Rolo or Lance would steal parts for their future motorcycles, or at most buying them at a ridiculously low price. One of them would assure Keith what they were doing was completely moral, and they would ride off to find the next parts. It was dusk when they circled back to Keith’s town.

“Your stop, city-boy. Altea.” Nyma smiled at Keith through the rearview mirror and slowed down the van at the edge of the entrance. Keith returned the smile and made to exit the van.

Keith came around to the other side of the van. Rolo and Lance muttered goodbyes, the latter giving a soft smile that made Keith’s heart stutter. After giving his last wave, Keith turned towards the quiet town. Strangely, he couldn’t seem to wipe a smile off his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance offers Keith another ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh so I think I like this chapter, but you guys have to see if you like it too! ^^

“You did WHAT!?”

 

Lane groaned, burying his face in his hands. “I know!! I know I know I know…”

 

Hunk looked like he was about to burst, scrubbing the dishes at the smile a little harder than necessary. “Dude,” he hissed. “You can’t just bring the sheriff’s brother to your mini road trips!”

 

Lance groaned and dragged his hands over his face. “I know…” He whined pitifully for a few seconds, muttering about how he wouldn't be able to finish his motorcycle, or how he’d miss all the other road trips, or how “the hot sheriff now totally hates me and any chance I had with him are gone”.

 

Hunk let his friend sob for a bit more before interrupting the pity party. “Alright, so let's think this through. Sure, Chief Shirogane might not like you for a bit--” he paused at another wail, “-- _but_ nothing big will happen, really. You're not around town often enough.”

 

Lance’s frown softened. “I miss you too buddy.”

 

"Oh, that's not what I meant--”

 

Lance’s hands slammed down on the counter, and Hunk jumped. The Cuban pushed himself up and started towards the door. “Well! I'm on my way to find Keith.”

 

“Again?”

 

Lance flushed and coughed into a hand, averting Hunk’s suspicious gaze. “Uh, yeah, Keith’s supposed to bail me and my bros if we run into any cops.”

 

Hunk’s face hardened at the mention of Nyma and Rolo but decided not to think about them. Instead he said, “You never bring people to bail you out.”

 

Lance’s gave flushed again. “We’re trying to be more careful,” he countered.

 

“I don't think you've ever seen a single cop on the road, Lance.”

 

“WELL!” Lance’s face was now a good three shades darker than normal. He took that as his cue to leave. “Nice seeing you again, ol’ buddy! Time for me to _totally not_ find Keith!” He ran out the door, rain chimes jingling in his wake.

 

Hunk huffed in fond exasperation. His friend could not seem to handle a little crush.

 

***

 

Lance rushed outside, speed walking with no destination other than to get as far away from the local diner as possible. Fuck. Hunk saw through his lies like they were glass. Though Lance shouldn't have expected anything less; Hunk faced the tears of his dramatics too many times to be easily fooled. But in all truthfulness, Lance… didn't actually know why he invited Keith. It definitely wasn't for a backup lawyer, though--Hunk was right on that one. But it wasn't like Keith was the type to go on and steal motorcycle parts for fun. The sheriff’s boy probably couldn't even shoot a bullet straight. Lance’s thoughts drifted back to yesterday, after the first stop.

 

***

 

_Nyma looked at Lance crossly._

 

_“Dude, you said you'd bring a friend, not your star-crossed lover.”_

 

_Lance spluttered and he felt his face grow warm. “I-We aren't boyfriends,” he hissed._

 

_Roll spoke up. “Sounds fake but okay.” He glanced at the sleeping Keith. “I'm kinda glad though. No offense, but the dude's kinda lame.”_

 

_Lance pretended he wasn't affected, even though he bristled inside. “Keith's just a sheriff's boy, cut him some slack.”_

 

_Nyma giggled. “No, no, he's so dumb it's cute.”_

 

_“Guys.”_

 

_The other two just laughed. Rolo composed quickly. “Lance, when you said you were bringing someone over, we thought you were bringing over Pidge or Shay over, not some dude with a stick up his ass.”_

 

_Lance puffed his cheeks in frustration. “Look, I know he's not what you agreed to--”_

 

_“That dude literally tried to stop Nyma after the first store--”_

 

_“HE'S NOT THAT BAD!”_

 

_They all froze when Keith stirred. He mumbled a few words then stilled. After a few seconds of silence, the three sighed in relief._

 

_Nyma shook her head. “God, Lance…”_

 

_Lance crossed his arms. “No! Keith...Keith's a good person. But he definitely has a rebellious side. Trust me, if he didn't want to come, he wouldn't have taken my offer. And--” Lance points at Rolo and Nyma accusingly. “I have a very good choice in friends.”_

 

_The two bounty hunters scoffed and drew out a long “sure” and Lance was left protesting._

 

***

 

Lance chewed the inside of his lip worriedly, still searching for a reason why he invited over Keith. Maybe it was because he felt pity. O maybe he was just in a generous mood yesterday? Or maybe… Lance wanted to see Keith more often…? No no no no _definitely not_. Lance shook his head out of his thoughts and speeded up in embarrassment, and suddenly bumped into a body.

 

“OW!”

 

Lance hissed in pain and staggered back. He rubbed his forehead. “Watch where you’re going assho--oh.” He bumped into Keith.

 

Said man was gingerly holding his nose. He shot back a “Says the one who bumped into me!” before starting to walk around Lance.

 

Lance quickly came back to his senses and caught Keith’s wrist. “Wait!” he begged. He was met with the other’s piercing indigo eyes. Lance inwardly quirked a smile at himself, proud that he got Keith’s attention.

 

Then he _really_ can to his senses. He didn’t have anything to say. Lance froze and cringed. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! What the hell McClain?_ Then Keith tapped his foot, and Lance realized no one had said anything yet. He let go of Keith’s wrist with a nervous chuckle. “Ahaha, sorry, I just--” he coughed into a fist. “I--do you want to come with me and Rolo and Nyma again?” He blurted the words without thinking. “We still got like, a whole bunch of pieces still missing.”

 

Keith stated, and Lance flushed. Gosh, he was blushing a lot these days. “Sure.”

 

Lance’s eyes widened. “Really?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Oh. Well.” He laughed nervously again and shrugged. “See you. Thursday...9:30, I guess?”

 

“Sure.” Keith seemed to throw Lance a hint of a smile. He shot the other man a two fingered salute and started walking off into town. “See you there.”

 

Lance watched him go, a dopey smile on his face. After a few minutes, Lance shook his head and turned to leave town. He lightly slapped himself. “Stupid, stupid McClain.”

 

***

 

“Keith!”

 

Keith grumbled from his bed. He burrowed himself deeper into the blankets. “A few more minutes…” Faintly, he could hear footsteps thudding up the stairs. The footsteps stopped near Keith’s room. Keith looked up from his blanket nest to see his half-brother standing in the doorway, fiddling with the buttons of his uniform.

 

“I’m going off to work in a few minutes. Breakfast’s in the kitchen.” Shiro smiled fondly at Keith.

 

“Yeah, yeah... “ Keith gave a soft smile in return, and started to get up once Shro left the room. Thank goodness for Shiro--if he wasn’t around, Keith probably would’ve stayed in bed for another hour. Speaking of time. Keith’s gaze flew to the small clock on the left wall. 9:20. Ten minutes lefts. Keith cursed under his breath and hurriedly put on his socks and rushed the kitchen, where Shiro sat with a newspaper and a filled coffee mug in hand.

 

“So I’ve got a few minutes until I have to go to the station, so I thought we…” Shiro realized Keith wasn’t listening, but instead stuffing his face with the, to be fairly honest, horribly cooked eggs and ham. Shiro chuckled nervously “Woah calm down there bud.” Keith’s gaze snapped to his brother, and the boy abruptly stood up from the table and started to walk away. Shiro was bewildered, and immediately grabbed Keith’s wrist. “Keith.”

 

Keith finally seemed to slow down. Shiro turned the other boy around to face him fully. “What’s got you all in a rush?”

 

At this, the boy seemed to freeze, and he looked at the floor. After a few moments he spoke up. “I forgot I told the Holts I’d help them with cattling at nine.”

 

Shiro furrowed a brow. Keith was never a good liar. Shiro was fairly certain that the Holt family didn’t need any help for their work, and that Keith was never this enthusiastic for and type of work, even if Pidge, his childhood friend, was nearby. But at the same time… Keith was hardly ever this enthusiastic about anything. So the sheriff decided to let him off the hook this once. Shiro released Keith’s wrist from his grip. “Okay.”

 

Keith visibly relaxed, and he hurried towards the door. He snatched up his sketchbook and a few pencils on the way.

 

“Stay safe!” Shiro called out half-heartedly. He heard a distant assurance, then the slam of the front door. He sighed and looked at his watch. 9:33. He should really get to work.

 

***

 

Keith rushed to the site at 9:33, just a minute before Lance. The Cuban nodded the group, and they all headed towards the van. And now the four were headed off in who knows what direction. Rolo was asleep at shotgun again, and Nyma was content to drive the van and hum quietly. There was a silence not unlike the first trip Keith had gone to, and not unlike the first trip, Keith still felt isolated. Keith sighed quietly and looked out the window. He clutched his sketchbook tighter in his hands. He had brought along the sketchbook and pens along in hopes of drawing from real life, but the van was moving much too fast to see any trees, and Keith bet that none of the people here would like to be drawn. Except maybe Lance, he mused. Lance seemed like the type of person who would jump at any opportunity for attention. Keith shook his head subtly, clearing his mind from the thought. No, I don’t feel like drawing people anyways.

 

Keith’s eyes flickered to the window again, deep in thought. Maybe he could stay in the van and draw while Lance and his friends were off stealing motorcycle parts. After all, they didn’t really need him. He haven’t seen a single cop on the road, and Nyma and Rolo were well clever enough to slide by tight situations easily. So why did they really want Keith over--

 

“You draw?”

 

The sudden question made Keith jump, but he looked down at his sketchbook and nodded. Lance hums noncommittally. Not wanting to fall into another awkward silence, Keith spoke, “Do--” he clears his throat-- “Do you?”

 

“Oh!” Lance laughs albeit awkwardly, shooting Keith a nervous smile. “No, no, definitely not. But my brother Marco does painting, once in a while. Guess he picked it up from my mom, I guess.”

 

“Huh. I’m more of a charcoal and pen person myself, but that’s pretty cool.” The words felt bland in Keith’s mouth, but Lance ate them up anyway, nodding enthusiastically.

 

“If it wasn’t for your personalities, I would think you guys would get along nicely.” The brunet laughed lightly. Keith shook off the pretty sound with his confusion.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Marco’s all like, chill but responsible. He knows how to cook, and got into Cornell. He’s like… the babysitter that secretly helped you with your homework, I guess.” Lance shifted, and his gaze on Keith became more intense. “But you? Yeah, maybe you’re responsible, but you always stand on the sidelines. I still see you brooding off in the corner on our road trips. It’s like you’re too cool for everybody else.”

 

Keith bristled sharply. “I’m not ‘too cool’!” Lance gave him an unimpressed look, and Kieth ground his teeth The tensions in the van seemed a whole lot thicker. “I’m just…” he struggled to find a word. Awkward? Uninteresting? Lonely? “...bored,” he decides, and looks away. There was only silence, and Keith inwardly cringed. Geez, he just made things even more awkward.

 

Lance broke the silence first. “Well, you won’t be bored on these trips, I guarantee that.” Keith turned back to Lance to find the other man smiling almost apologetically. Keith couldn’t help but smile back.

 

“Guaranteed, huh?”

 

“One hundred percent.”

 

***

 

Keith left the van with a smile on his face, even wider than yesterday’s. Lance wasn’t lying when he said Keith wouldn’t be bored. They all spent the hours lugging motorcycle parts, taking turns bargaining, and running from various shop owners. In hindsight, Keith shouldn’t feel this good about breaking the law, but the adrenaline was running pretty high. He probably got only three drawings into his sketchbook (pretty good, considering he was expecting a low of sixteen).

 

Keith wandered down the road humming quietly. The stars had come out. Was it that late? The sheriff’s boy shrugging away the thought as he approached his house. His key jingled softly when Keith struggled with the door’s faulty lock, but the wooden door creaked open with ease. Keith smiled at the quiet peace, and looked up, and froze.

 

Shiro was standing in the middle of the kitchen with a scowl, his arms crossed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just remembered that I have some original art for this fic! If any of y'all like to see them, I could put them up on the next chapter (but I just might do that regardless lmao) <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, this chapter's a bit short!

"Where were you?"

The question was more of a demand than anything else. Keith gulped, his throat suddenly dry. The joy of the day dropped quicker than Keith's small smile, which was an impressive feat. "Uhh..."

Shiro scowled harder. He pushed himself off the table and stalked towards his little brother. "It's 12:20. the Holts closed their business at nine. And when I called them, they said you never even visited them today." Shiro was now gesturing wildly with his arms, and Keith cringed in guilt. "I ask around town, no one has seen you in the past, what, thirteen, fourteen hours? Did you know how worried I was?" Shiro emphasized the last sentence, and his right hand gripped Keith's arm. Finched at the shock of cold metal, but kept his ground, eyes wide.

Siro had paused to recollect himself. And all at once, his panicked expression turned to one much wearier, one meant for people much older than himself. When he spoke again, his voice was cracked and soft. "I don't want to lose you, Keith. Not.. not like..."

The lump in Keith's throat seemed to largen tenfold. That was the closest either of them got to talking about their parents in years The guilt of leaving his brother worried felt even heavier in Keith's gut. He finally spoke softly. "I'm sorry."

Shiro ducked his head wearily. "I don't want you to apologize."

"I went out with the rogues."

Shiro stiffened.

"Lance. Rolo and Nyma, but I don't talk to them as much." Keith searched his brother's face anxiously.   
  
Shiro's face shifted, but it was unreadable through the layers of weariness.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I shouldn't have gone, I--"

"Keith."

Keith's breath hitched. Sometime during his flood of words, Keith had started crying. Shiro's arms enveloped him in a hug, and Keith leaned into him. Sobs racked his body.

"I'm not mad, Keith. I know Lance from Allura and Matt, I know he's a good kid. I just needed to know that you were safe."

Keith gripped to Shiro tighter.

 

The chimes on the door jingled as Keith pushed the diner's door open, sketchbook in hand. He walked up to the counter, where a small girl with unruly short hair tinkered with an engine. She looked up and flashed a smile. "Keith!"

"Hey Pidge." Keith pulled up a seat next to the girl. He pointed toward the engine questioningly. "Oh, that," Pidge flapped a hand disinterestedly. "Matt broke his pickup truck again, it's whatever." She turned to Keith, her expression serious. "What's not whatever is you lied about coming over to my place."

Keith groaned. He started to fiddle with his sketchbook's spiral binder.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Keith. I don't don't care if you're going out with some rogues, or a boyfriend, or both. I just want to know why you're doing it."

"Well, I am hanging out with some rogues, Lance, Rolo, and Nyma specifically. Lance asked me to cover them in case of cops."

The girl's mouth formed a small "o" at the names, but it quickly turned into a devious smile. "Oh? That's what Lance told you to do, huh. You're basically a cop in training, why did you agree?"

Keith tried to avoid her burning gaze desperately, his mind racing. Keith spoke softly. "I just think Lance is cool, I guess."

Pidge laughed softly, but not in a condescending way. "'Kay. But next time, warn Shiro. His ass was freaking out, not even my brother calm him down."

Keith huffed a weak laugh and agreed to Pidge's request. They stayed at the diner for a while longer, ranting about their day, them lapsing into working side by side, each other's silence comforting. And when they left the Keith, Keith was less tense than he had been in days.

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter sounds a bit choppy, agh.. But I hope you liked the fic so far :) If any of you have any constructive criticism for me, fire away!! I'm always ready to improve!
> 
> I think I'm better at art than writing rn lmao  
> ig: @dried.hycanthis


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